CJ & Esteve / McGreal & Cahill

[JR1882]

That was the last time I can recall us having such a rock solid partnership, the goals against column is insane.

McGreal the wise old head with a young star alongside him who we could see was going to the top, and he did.

This time we have 2 young stars, probs worth 50-60m between them if they continue the season like this.

They are so complimentary. Esteve with positioning, intelligence & superb recovery pace (at this level anyway). CJ with raw physicality, lads an absolute unit which makes his passing range more impressive.

I think we will enjoy seeing these 2 thrive, we will need to go up to keep Esteve 100% but hopefully CJ will be with us a while longer regardless of how go on.

[hoosier-daddy]

CJ goes into the last year of his contract from the summer, so I hope he signs a nice extension.

[brexit]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

[randomclaret2]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

Mr Pace ?... is that you ?

[bobinho]

I think the comparison is a little too much at this time, but I get the sentiment.

McGreal was an absolute Rolls Royce of a player. Best defender I’ve seen and we’ve had some belters.

CJ had a relatively poor start to this season, but can’t be easy coming into a side like that. He’s improved every game which is encouraging. Playing well and the shirt is his, but let’s not forget about the quality we have still to come back.

Esteve is a real find. As pointed out his recovery pace is exceptional at this level, he’s big and strong and always seems to make the right decision.

We look organised and very tight at the back, and that shows in the “goals against” column. Still a long way to go, but we look strong at the back, we just need the final third sorting.

[MDWat]

Esteve’s recovery pace is insane.

He will go right to the top. He’s way, way, way, way too good for this level.

[CrosspoolClarets]

A great pair and two good lads.

CJ was about 8th choice at the start of the season at centre back, we also had Al Dakhil and O’Shea then (if we include the injured lads). Fascinating to see where he would be now.

The comparison I like, as a bit of a similar UK and continental partnership, is Terry and Carvalho in 2004/05. That was the record breaking 15 goals conceded across 38 games and ironically was Scott Parker’s only Premier League title (as a bench warmer). The big question though is who is our Didier Drogba?

[ArmchairDetective]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

Do you know something or are you just intentionally clogging up threads with unnecessarily negative bull? From what I've heard it's the opposite with CJER. The club are looking to extend his stay as we speak.

[brexit]

Do you know something or are you just intentionally clogging up threads with unnecessarily negative bull? From what I've heard it's the opposite with CJER. The club are looking to extend his stay as we speak.

Not negative realistic. And an opinion held by several fans who don't lurk on this toxic cesspit of a message board.
The reason the club are trying to tie CJ to a new contract is they may have received interest from other clubs.
Easy thing to do here, wait until January and see which of the four are still here.
By the way, the purpose of this message board is so that sad losers like myself can spout conspiracy theories, troll other keyboard warriors whilst we sit in our crappy two - up two - downs in Padiham with our only companion, a half - blind three-legged Jack Russell and our trousers round our ankles.

[steve1264b]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

That's the spirit Brexit, don't let anyone change you, I've added you to my list of all time guests for my dinner party. Ive had to bump Muhammed Ali but i think it will be worth it.

[ArmchairDetective]

Not negative realistic. And an opinion held by several fans who don't lurk on this toxic cesspit of a message board.
The reason the club are trying to tie CJ to a new contract is they may have received interest from other clubs.
Easy thing to do here, wait until January and see which of the four are still here.
By the way, the purpose of this message board is so that sad losers like myself can spout conspiracy theories, troll other keyboard warriors whilst we sit in our crappy two - up two - downs in Padiham with our only companion, a half - blind three-legged Jack Russell and our trousers round our ankles.

Fair enough. Not sure which bit if any of that to argue with. Maybe I'll argue that it's a pessimistic rather than realistic outlook and leave it at that

[ClaretsPadiham]

McGreal and Cahill was playing for a **** poor bottom half championship side.

We’ve had miles better partnerships more recent.

Mee & Tarkowski

Mee & Keane

[warksclaret]

PL clubs were already looking at Esteve last season-can see some serious offers in Jan, but if he stays until season-end his value will only go up further. Pace needs to set a fee of £40m plus. like we did with Koleosho

[KRBFC]

I don’t think the likes of Keane, Mee and Tarkowski belong in the same category as Esteve. Based on his current ability and potential, he should easily eclipse the careers of those 3.

It would take a serious injury or disaster for the highlight of Esteves career to be playing for a team like Everton/Brentford and scrapping for survival.

[Quicknick]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

Cheerful, aren't you.

[ElectroClaret]

It would take a serious injury or disaster for the highlight of Esteves career to be playing for a team like Everton/Brentford and scrapping for survival.

I think his abilities would take him above the likes of Everton or Brentford.

Newcastle or Villa or the like maybe, or slotting into the backline of the shambles that is currently Man U.
I reckon he'd handle that.

Having said all that, let's hope he stays.

[ClaretTony]

CJ was about 8th choice at the start of the season at centre back, we also had Al Dakhil and O’Shea then (if we include the injured lads). Fascinating to see where he would be now.

I posted this the other day but sometimes a young player just needs an opportunity.

[hoosier-daddy]

PL clubs were already looking at Esteve last season-can see some serious offers in Jan, but if he stays until season-end his value will only go up further. Pace needs to set a fee of £40m plus. like we did with Koleosho

We'll get a lot more than £40m if we get promotion. Sell players who could very well be the difference between promotion and staying down would be utter madness.

[rob63]

Not negative realistic. And an opinion held by several fans who don't lurk on this toxic cesspit of a message board.
The reason the club are trying to tie CJ to a new contract is they may have received interest from other clubs.
Easy thing to do here, wait until January and see which of the four are still here.
By the way, the purpose of this message board is so that sad losers like myself can spout conspiracy theories, troll other keyboard warriors whilst we sit in our crappy two - up two - downs in Padiham with our only companion, a half - blind three-legged Jack Russell and our trousers round our ankles.

Mr Pace.......is that you?

[hoosier-daddy]

Fair enough. Not sure which bit if any of that to argue with. Maybe I'll argue that it's a pessimistic rather than realistic outlook and leave it at that

Now pull your trousers up!

[Indecisive]

Esteve’s recovery pace is insane.

He will go right to the top. He’s way, way, way, way too good for this level.

He’s elite. He really does seem to have such a strong head on his shoulders as well. I’ve heard it suggested we’d put a very very high asking price on him, and it in no way surprises me

[dougcollins]

CJ's auntie told me he was brilliant when he came here.

And I wouldn't argue with anything she told me.

[Newcastleclaret93]

40m quid.

Wow some people need a step back to earth.

Both are playing well but can we take a moment to appreciate the opposition. They are playing against arguably the worst championship in history. As ex premier players were saying on Sky news centre yesterday “this league is very average, there’s only a handful of players that have any quality”. I couldn’t agree more with them, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a genuine premier league quality player all season.

[ecc]

"And an opinion held by several fans who don't lurk on this toxic cesspit of a message board."

That's nice.

Why do you post on here, then?

[ecc]

I don’t think the likes of Keane, Mee and Tarkowski belong in the same category as Esteve. Based on his current ability and potential, he should easily eclipse the careers of those 3.

It would take a serious injury or disaster for the highlight of Esteves career to be playing for a team like Everton/Brentford and scrapping for survival.

If he can reach a category higher than the one(s) those three players are/were in he'll have done well. I think it's possible but we won't know until he returns to the PL. For the moment, let's enjoy watching the lad play because he is a pleasure to watch.

[Stayingup]

Both will be gone in January, along with Trafford and Luca.
SP has got the team ticking over to be ripped apart by financial concerns in the new year.
Egan and Worrall will be our new centre back pairing.

Of they are gone in January then half the fan base will have gone

[LincsWoldsClaret]

Currently, they’re both playing well and developing nicely. Pretty good for our reserve centre backs!

Neither is going to keep a fully fit Beyer out of the side. Either Worrall or Ekdal are likely to return too, so maybe 3 at the back is the way to go given our strength in this position.

[Indecisive]

40m quid.

Wow some people need a step back to earth.

Both are playing well but can we take a moment to appreciate the opposition. They are playing against arguably the worst championship in history. As ex premier players were saying on Sky news centre yesterday “this league is very average, there’s only a handful of players that have any quality”. I couldn’t agree more with them, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a genuine premier league quality player all season.

From what I heard the figure of £30 million was banded about at the end of last season as an amount it would take for us to let Esteve go at the time.

It was a lot higher than I thought it would be. But, I’ve started to see why more and more this season. So in some way £40 million doesn’t seem completely ludicrous.

It’s not surprised me how well esteve is doing this season. Probably more of a shock has been Egan Riley’s incredible form.

We really do have a ridiculously strong centre half pairing for this league. On current form they both look like they’d be comfortable in a mid table premier league team, Esteve potentially a top 6 club.

[RVclaret]

40m quid.

Wow some people need a step back to earth.

Both are playing well but can we take a moment to appreciate the opposition. They are playing against arguably the worst championship in history. As ex premier players were saying on Sky news centre yesterday “this league is very average, there’s only a handful of players that have any quality”. I couldn’t agree more with them, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a genuine premier league quality player all season.

Esteve showed he could compete in the PL to be fair. Keane went for 32m and that was, what, 7/8 years ago? French u21 international, quick, sound on the ball and left footed - at a premium these guys. 40m seems steep but if that’s the best way to put off any interest then that’s what we should do.

As for the ‘worst Champ in history’ this seems a bit of a Deja vu to the Kompany season from you. A ‘genuine PL quality player’ is sometime someone unexpected - Westwood did pretty well for us yet couldn’t get in a play off Aston Villa team at the time! Ryan Christie wasn’t a massive standout at this level yet is now a regular in a decent mid table team. Many other examples obv.

[hoosier-daddy]

Currently, they’re both playing well and developing nicely. Pretty good for our reserve centre backs!

Neither is going to keep a fully fit Beyer out of the side. Either Worrall or Ekdal are likely to return too, so maybe 3 at the back is the way to go given our strength in this position.

I disagree with all of this.

IMO no player is going to shift CJ or Esteve out unless one of them picked up an injury. It's certainly their places to lose, regardless of who comes back from injury.

And I can't see Parker suddenly deciding to go 3 central defenders while we've had a flat back 4 all season and rightly so. That would be utter madness.

[Stonehouse]

Beyer and THB were pretty special on the few times they played together ,anyone know how many games they played as a pair?

[Newcastleclaret93]

Esteve showed he could compete in the PL to be fair. Keane went for 32m and that was, what, 7/8 years ago? French u21 international, quick, sound on the ball and left footed - at a premium these guys. 40m seems steep but if that’s the best way to put off any interest then that’s what we should do.

As for the ‘worst Champ in history’ this seems a bit of a Deja vu to the Kompany season from you. A ‘genuine PL quality player’ is sometime someone unexpected - Westwood did pretty well for us yet couldn’t get in a play off Aston Villa team at the time! Ryan Christie wasn’t a massive standout at this level yet is now a regular in a decent mid table team. Many other examples obv.

It just reminds me of the Pope situation. The market dictates the fee, and very few CBs since Covid corrected the market have sold for that much.

In premier league history there’s a grand total of 16 centre backs that have sold for more than 40m. Since Covid only 8 cbs have sold for that much.

They were:

Yoro signed by United
Martinez signed by United
De Ligt signed by United
Disasi signed by Chelsea
Fofana signed by Chelsea
Romero signed by Spurs
Kilman signed by West Ham

So the reality of Esteve being signed for 40m is incredibly low unless one of the big boys wants to come in for him (which I think we can all agree is not gonna happen for at least a few more seasons).

This is very much the worst championship season (getting progressively worst every season). I don’t think that’s too radical to suggest given the opposition we have seen. I honestly don’t think Esteve will go until he’s had a decent stint in the premier league, if we are being truly honest I don’t think 16 apps in the premier league (where if my memory serves he didn’t get a single clean sheet) is a good point towards him being worth 40m.

[Goliath]

It just reminds me of the Pope situation. The market dictates the fee, and very few CBs since Covid corrected the market have sold for that much.

In premier league history there’s a grand total of 16 centre backs that have sold for more than 40m. Since Covid only 8 cbs have sold for that much.

They were:

Yoro signed by United
Martinez signed by United
De Ligt signed by United
Disasi signed by Chelsea
Fofana signed by Chelsea
Romero signed by Spurs
Kilman signed by West Ham

So the reality of Esteve being signed for 40m is incredibly low unless one of the big boys wants to come in for him (which I think we can all agree is not gonna happen for at least a few more seasons).

This is very much the worst championship season (getting progressively worst every season). I don’t think that’s too radical to suggest given the opposition we have seen. I honestly don’t think Esteve will go until he’s had a decent stint in the premier league, if we are being truly honest I don’t think 16 apps in the premier league (where if my memory serves he didn’t get a single clean sheet) is a good point towards him being worth 40m.

Serious question, are any of those left footed?l apart from Martinez?
I genuinely think that adds another 10.million on at least. Add that to his pace and reading of the game and it's basically all the attributes the big clubs want now.

I don't think 40 mill is impossible if we stay down, if we go up then it would be the bare minimum

[Newcastleclaret93]

Serious question, are any of those left footed?l apart from Martinez?
I genuinely think that adds another 10.million on at least. Add that to his pace and reading of the game and it's basically all the attributes the big clubs want now.

I don't think 40 mill is impossible if we stay down, if we go up then it would be the bare minimum

A few top top cbs that are left footed have recently been signed for below 40m:

Van de ven (arguably my favourite Cb in the premier league)
Timber
Badisehlle
Botman
Pau Torres
Niakhate

There are a lot less left footed CBs but actually the more expensive CBS tend be right footed.

[KRBFC]

A few top top cbs that are left footed have recently been signed for below 40m:

Van de ven (arguably my favourite Cb in the premier league)
Timber
Badisehlle
Botman
Pau Torres
Niakhate

There are a lot less left footed CBs but actually the more expensive CBS tend be right footed.

Niakhate

Timber left footed?

Right up there with you questioning why the Irish O’Shea hasn’t been called up to the England squad

[Goliath]

A few top top cbs that are left footed have recently been signed for below 40m:

Van de ven (arguably my favourite Cb in the premier league)
Timber
Badisehlle
Botman
Pau Torres
Niakhate

There are a lot less left footed CBs but actually the more expensive CBS tend be right footed.

Van der ven is brilliant and is actually who I thought of when thinking of players similar to Esteve. I thought he cost more than 40m though.
I think realistically it depends on what division we are in when he goes.

[willsclarets]

Van der ven is brilliant and is actually who I thought of when thinking of players similar to Esteve. I thought he cost more than 40m though.
I think realistically it depends on what division we are in when he goes.

Van der ven is another league above Esteve I'd say, as good as Esteve is. Van der ven is the quickest prem player in history, he's awesome with the ball and a very good defender too. That lad is champions league winner level at some point, only 23 too like esteve. But I'm not sure you were comparing abilities anyway to be fair!

Esteve is a great defender, but he's not as adept at carrying the ball through the thirds. Being hyper critical here given we're talking about his ceiling. He'll obviously play at a much higher level than burnley, I hope for a top 6 side. Is he elite elite, as in the top 5%, I have my doubts there.

[Boss Hogg]

They are looking a good pairing but too early to make fair comparisons. Players often seem to have to be the next best thing or terrible on here. Sometimes they might not quite be either or might just be finding their way. CJ and Esteve need more appearances and to maintain the current form. Look good so far though and won’t be dislodged on this form.